Coin-controlled vending device



March 10, 1931. c, WEBER 1,795,810

COIN CONTROLLED VENDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 5, 1929 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 10, .1931

Y UNITED TATE PATENT" oFnci CHARLES WEBER, E NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS; TO PEGGY ONEAL clear: CORPORATION, or NEW YoEx, N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW YORK QoIN-G TEO'LLED VENDING DEVICE Application filed November 5, 1929, SerialNo. 404,350.

attendant, it is essential that such a machine be operable at all times. In one form of vending machine there is used a pair of discs having normally aligned slots into which a coin may fall to couple the two discs together, so that movement of an external crank may be transmitted to, the dispensing mechanism of the machine.

However, this rather simple formof coincontrolled device has been found objectionable in' that it frequently happens that the slots in the discs are not aligned, with the obvious result that the coin cannot enter the j slots in the discs to couple them together, and

the dispensing mechanism may not be operated, I

It is an object of this invention to provide in a vending machine a coupling device com- 1 prislng a pair of slotted discs provlded w1th 1 means for assuring the alignment of the slots in the discs.

This and other advantages, which will later appear are accomplished by the simple and practical construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and exhibited in the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which: I

Figure 1 represents a front elevational view partly in section of my improved vending machine. 7

Figure 2 represents a view taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a coupling device used in the machine.

Referring to the drawing, the vending machine is shown to include a substantially rectangular casing 5 having a door '6 hinged thereto, the latter being provided with a glass window 7 by means ofwhich the contents of the casing may be inspected.

The casing is divided by a partition '8 into a large compartment in which the commodity being vended is carried, and a small compartment in which the coin-control mecha nism ispositioned.

In the present case,the machine is designed j to vendcigars or articles of asimilar shape which are capable of falling into a dispens i-ng trough 9 in the large compartment. The

trough 9 is fixed to a shaft 10 journalled in the casing wall 11 and the partition 8, the shaft 10 extending through the partition 8 into the small compartment, in which space] it has fixed thereto a disc 12 having a-transverse slot 13. I

The disc- 12 has an integral upon which is rotatably mounted a disc 14 having a transverse ,slot 15. The disc is 'pro vided with an integralshaft16, which isj ournalled in the wall 17 ofthe icasing 5 Fixed to shaft 16 is a gear18 mesh with a largercgear 19, the -.latter being fixedto a shaft 20 journalled-infland passing through the wall 17 to'the outside of the casing where the shaft 20 has fixed thereto an operating handle-21. V

projection12o A tension spring 22 has one end attachedto V a lug 28'projecting from the side of gear 19;

and the other end attached to the wall 17 Fixed to the periphery of disc 14 is a trans verse arm'24 extending over disc 12 and in the path of a pin 25, projecting radially from disc12, Y 1

A pin 26 projectsaxially from the side of disc 12 and is adapted to be stopped by a lug 27 projectingfrom the rear'wall of casing 5.

In the small compartmentis mounted a chute 28 for guiding a coin; into the slots 13 and 15. Movement of the handle 21 is limited by pins 29- and 30 projecting from the outer side or wall 17 a In, operation, aicoinis dropped into the:

chute 28 and falls into the slots Band 15, thus couplingdiscs 12 and 14 together. Rotation of handle 21, through gears 18, 19 and shaft 16 will cause disc 14 to rotate disc 12,

and consequently rotate the trough 9 to dispense the cigar or other commodity through an opening in the casing 5. As seen in Figure 1,- the rotation of the discs 12 and 14 will be clockwise, and consequently the arm 24:- moves in advance of the pin 25.

s. $0.011 a es e s, re r e free e 1 mdle 21 the spring 22 tends to rotate the disc 14 in a counter-clockwise direction, and arm 24 engages pin 25 to rotate the disc 12 in the same direction. The counter-clockwise movement of the disc 12 is limited by the engagement of pin 26 with the lug 27,

It will'be seen that normally arm 24 engages pin 25 and pin 26 engages lug 27, these parts being so arranged that normally slots 13 and i5 will'be in alignment'to receive a coin passing through thechute 28.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a simple yet positive means for assuring the alignment of the slots in the coupling discs, thereby assuring the operation of the dispensing mechanism whenever a proper coin is inserted into the machine.

It will be noted (see Fig. 3) that the slot in disc 12 is very shallow, while the slot in disc lis relatively deep, so'that the clutch member 12 has sufiicient bearing upon the coin to make the clutch operative. But in the event that aislug'oi very thin metal or pasteboarc such as have been heretofore surreptitiously used, is'inserted, such a slug would not have sufiicient strength to operate the two'clutch members 12 and 14:. The small recess 18 in clutch member 12, owing to the small bearing which it has on the slug, would bend the narrow portion of the slug engaged in "the recess'and consequently only one member of the clutch would rotate.

The foregoingdisclosure is to be regarded asdescriptive and illustrative only, and not as restrictive or limitative of the invention, of which obviously an embodiment may be constructed including many modifications without departing from the general scope herein indicated anddenoted in the appended claims. V

Having thus described my invention, what liclaim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

1. In a vending machine, a coupling'device comprising a pair of discs having transverse peripheral slots adapted to receive a coin, a shaft upon which one of the discs is fixed, the second disc being independently rotatable with'respect to the first disc a pin projecting radially from the first disc, an arm mounted on the second disc and projecting over the first disc in the path of said pin so that rotation of the second disc will cause rotation of the first disc, a pin projecting axially from a side of the first disc, a stop in the path of said pinto limit the movement of the first disc in one direction and resilient means to normally urge the'second disc to rotate in a direction sothat said arm will engage the radial projecting pin on the first disc.

' 2; In aven'ding machine, a shaft having a disc fixed thereto, a second disc. rotatably mounted adjacent said disc, slots in the discs adaptedto receive a coin to'couple the discs ary lug in the path of said pin to stop the rotation of the discs in a position so that the slots will be in alignment.

This specification signed this 25th day of October, 1929.

- CHARLES WEBER. 

